The all-new S-Class may not have even landed in U.S. showrooms yet, but that didn’t stop Mercedes-Benz from showing-off the next model in the S line-up – the striking new S-Class Coupe.
Unveiled at this month’s Frankfurt mega-show, this massive two-door version of the S-Class sedan was dubbed a ‘concept’, though don’t be fooled; the proper production version is expected to be unwrapped at next January’s Detroit auto show.
In a bid to rein-in the burgeoning number of models in its line-up, Mercedes has quite righty decided to jettison the CL moniker – the name of the last S-Class-based coupe – and stick with S.
That said, there’s not much design-wise to tie this bold, brash, super-coupe to its rather staid and stately sedan sibling.
And when Mercedes’ board member Joachim Schmidt told journalists at Frankfurt that the S Coupe, being the flagship of the range, gave designers additional freedom, he wasn’t kidding. With all the swoops and scallops, creases and bulges, perhaps they were given too much freedom. This is one extremely busy design.
While, to me, there’s nothing elegant about the giant, gaping and very upright front grille with its frisbee-sized Mercedes three-pointed star badge, the swooping roofline and pillarless opening of the windows is nothing less than automotive art.
This is also a whopper of a car that’s right up there in size with Bentley’s Continental coupe. Nose to tail it measures 198.8 inches and rides on a 116-inch wheelbase. At each corner are giant 21-inch wheels which almost look small in relation to the heft of the rest of the car.
Inside there’s plenty of concept car razzle-dazzle, with calfskin leather surfaces, hand-tufted silk carpeting and a touch screen showing four world clocks. “Darling, did you realize it’s already 5am in Tokyo?” But the four individual Barcalounger seats will stay for the production, as will the pair of 12.3-inch screens which are carried over from the S-Class sedan.
Powering this curvy projectile is Merc’s acclaimed twin-turbo 4.6-liter V8 cranking out 449-horsepower and a muscley 516 lb-ft of torque. Expect a full suite of AMG-developed engines – include a mighty 600hp-plus AMG V12 – to follow. Talking of ‘following’, also expect a convertible version of this new coupe in a year or so.
As Mercedes has Bentley firmly in its gun-sights with this new S-Class Coupe, don’t expect much change from $200,000 when it goes on sale here in the U.S. around a year from now.
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